Boys soccer: Barrington meets its match

Naperville North was crowned Class 3A boys soccer state champion after defeating Barrington 3-1 Saturday night at Hoffman Estates High School's Garber Stadium.

The Huskies (21-2-3) claimed the second title in program history with two dramatic set piece strikes to end the hopes for the Broncos, who for long sequences played brilliant attacking soccer only to be undone by North's season-long strength.

"We talked at great length in the pregame about how dangerous their were in their set piece chances, and although we had much of the run of play for long periods, we just weren't responsible enough when those chances came their way, and those couple of mistakes ended up costing us in the end," said Barrington coach Scott Steib.

Naperville North expected quite a battle, and got one.

"We had our troubles with the way Barrington attacked, and moved the ball around so quickly," said Naperville North coach Jim Konrad. "No. 9 (Klaus Pallan) is a special player, and No. 17 (Nash Pirie) on the outside was just devastating. But it was a great game all throughout, and for us, we found a way with a couple of great goals to come out of here with a state title."

The 45th state tournament title game began at breakneck speed, and the jam-packed audience erupted in the eighth minute when the hordes of fans dressed in Huskies orange and blue watched Will Ritzman run onto a Jack Barry free kick and fire in the first goal of the night. It could have gotten worse for the Broncos (23-4-1) moments later when a long throw just missed a Huskie at the back post.

Just before the Ritzman strike, Naperville North keeper Tom Welch drew gasps from Barrington supporters and applause from the Huskies' faithful when he stopped a short-range cracker from Caleb Orr, who had two other terrific chances denied on the night.

Barrington slowly got itself back into the contest when the trio of Enrico Ruffolo, Zach Carbonara and Gio Guarnero began to find openings inside the Huskies' end from their midfield spots.

Brimming with confidence, the Broncos poured forward with pace and speed to put the Huskies under pressure for the rest of the first period, creating a handful of chances on frame, including one more from Orr and another when Pallan rattled the bar in the 25th minute.

"They put a lot of pressure on us, especially late in the first half, and right away after the break when they got back even - just as they did last night against Conant, which all of us knew could happen again tonight if we weren't careful," said North senior Chris Sullivan, who is on his way to Bowling Green next fall to play.

Pallan equalized with his 31st goal of the season just inside the first minute of play. The opportunity came as the result of a superb run and carry up the left side by Pirie, who burst past a trio of Huskies before whipping a perfect ball to his teammate, who redirected past Walsh at the back post.

Pallan would nod a Pirie free kick just wide at 56 minutes. Mitch Konrad took one off the line for the Huskies minutes later.

Pirie probed North with one enterprising run after another as the Broncos used speed, width and quick ball movement to stay in their opponent's end until Sullivan provided a wonderful serve to Barry, who put his club in front for good in the 66th minute.

"Thank goodness for Jack Barry tonight," Sullivan said.

The Barrington bench voiced its disapproval of call at the near touchline that gave the Huskies another dead-ball opportunity. And then Ian Guppy finished a Ty Konrad ball at the back post with five minutes remaining in regulation.

"We played so well tonight, except for those couple of defensive mistakes," said Steib. "It's too bad, but we couldn't ask for too much more from the boys."

"Except for the result, I really don't really want the season to end right now," said Carbonara. "I could just keep on playing forever."

Pirie, who recently earned his second consecutive all-state award, reflected on what became a most memorable season for Barrington's program.

"You play the game of soccer to make memories, and that's exactly what we did this season - and especially during the playoffs, and right up until tonight," he said. "And that's something all of us will have for the rest of our lives."